Thanks to my fabulous sponsor Skinfix, I recently attended the first-ever Western Canadian blog conference: BlogWest 2012. I knew almost immediately upon my return that one post wouldn’t be appropriate for sharing the event, since for me the event had three major highlights. I’ve decided to cover each one of them in a separate post; my first post is about my experience speaking on the Monetization Panel.

When I was given the opportunity to speak on the Monetization Panel at BlogWest 2012, I was completely thrilled. I made a lot of mistakes when I first started blogging and I was so excited about being able to share some of them so that other bloggers could benefit. I was also nervous, but I dealt with that by just pushing it out of my mind.

And that worked absolutely perfectly until the morning of our panel. That’s when the nervousness really hit hard. Fear sat in the bottom of my stomach like a lead weight. I took some deep breaths and forced myself to look calm and confident. I smiled a lot, talked about how excited I was and did everything I could to ensure my nervousness was known only to me. When I sat down moments before the panel started, I had already decided that I would contribute as much as I could because I really didn’t want to appear silenced by fear.

So the panel began. I didn’t stutter. My voice didn’t shake. I was told afterwords that I had looked and sounded confident and professional. I said most of the things I wanted to say and forgot a few points that I wish I had remembered. But overall, I’m pretty sure I did a darn good job.

And then the panel ended. And I waited for the flood of relief to hit me now that the panel was over….

And it never came.

Instead, I think I actually felt worse. That lead weight in my stomach was even heavier. Because it was done now. And if I had said anything people didn’t like or didn’t agree with, there was nothing I could do. It was over. That was that.

I gradually did fight away that “after-nervousness.” And when it had finally retreated and I was feeling like my usual chipper and outspoken self again, I asked myself, “Will I do this again? I know if I do it long enough, I’ll become comfortable with it. But is it worth the agony and insecurity I’ll feel in the meantime every time I stand up to speak?”

And part of me screamed, “NO!! Absolutely not! You proved your point! You NEVER, EVER have to do it again!”

But after that first reaction, I thought back to when I was afraid to be videotaped, and how completely natural and comfortable I am on video now. I thought back further to when I first started blogging and I was so uncertain about it that I considered just posting other people’s buttons so that I could get bonus giveaway entries without actually ever having to write anything myself. I thought back even further, to a time when I was so shy that I was scared to even reply to somebody if they said, “Hello.”

And I thought about how I conquered all those fears. I didn’t do it by thinking about that voice screaming, “No!” in my head. I didn’t do it by thinking at all.

I did it by blindly leaping into anything that I had decided was interesting. I did it by shutting off my brain and blocking out the doubts, insecurities and fears that were running rampant inside my head. I did it by doing, I did it by pretending that I loved doing it, and I did it again and again and again until I actually felt as comfortable as I looked whether I was meeting a new person or shooting a promotional video.

And I’ll be darned if I’m not going to do it with public speaking too. So when the opportunity presents itself, I WILL dive in again and I will do it until I have mastered it; until I am as comfortable on a stage as I am in the audience.

Having made this decision, I know I have some uncomfortable days ahead of me. But will it be worth it?

I have officially arrived at BlogWest 2012 thanks to my wonderful sponsor Skinfix! I have tons of goodies to give away to recipients, so if you’re at the conference, make sure you come and ask me for a gift bag! But even if you’re not, you don’t have to miss out! I have a gorgeous baby-blue Skinfix windbreaker, a Skinfix t-shirt and a bag of Skinfix products to give away to one lucky reader!
To win, just follow @SkinFixInc on Twitter and then Tweet about your favourite Skinfix product using the #Skinfix hashtag! I’ll randomly draw a winner at the end of the conference, so the more you Tweet, the better your chances of winning!

In just three weeks, Western Canada will be holding its very first blog conference, BlogWest 2012, in Edmonton, Alberta. And I will be right there with over 200 bloggers from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the rest of Canada for three days of learning, networking and fun in one of Canada’s most high-energy cities, thanks to my amazing sponsor Skinfix!

I fell in love with SkinFix products before I even started Mommy Kat and Kids. I received a sample of Skinfix Diaper Rash Paste at a Welcome Wagon baby shower event and when Benjamin developed an absolutely horrible diaper rash when he was about three months old, the diaper rash paste cleared it up almost instantly. I honestly couldn’t believe how fast and effective it was and my love of Skinfix was born. Needless to say, I am just thrilled that I have been given the chance to spread my love of this great company with my readers and with other Western Canadian bloggers!

I am very excited for this fabulous conference and I am already planning my schedule for the event. I can’t wait to meet some of the other bloggers in Western Canada, learn about new ways to improve my blog and connect with amazing sponsors. I’ve even been given the opportunity to speak on the Monetization Panel led by the fabulous Melissa Vroon!

I will be sharing my experience with all of you thanks to Skinfix and I’ll also have some amazing samples and giveaways of Skinfix products during the conference, so if you’re attending, be sure to find me to get a little SkinFix swag for yourself! And keep your eye on the #Skinfix and #BlogWest hashtags; I’ll be Tweeting out info about how you can get your hands on some sweet Skinfix merchandise!

In the meantime, I would love it if my amazing readers could show Skinfix some love by following @Skinfix on Twitter! They really deserve it; their products are phenomenal!

On October 13, I did something quite out of character. I left my husband and two sons alone for three whole days and flew off to Toronto to attend the incredibly popular BlissDom Canada conference. This was the first time I had EVER been away from my boys overnight, with the rare exception of the single day I spent away from my oldest son Zackary when I was in the hospital giving birth to his baby brother. To say I was emotional would be an understatement.

But I was determined. I love Mommy Kat and Kids but I had reached a point where I wanted to move to the next level and I knew that to do that I needed information that I could only get from other bloggers, bloggers who had been there. Three days later, I returned to my small hometown with my suitcase full of goodies, my wallet full of business cards and my mind overflowing with information. BlissDom Canada was everything I had hoped it would be and then some.

Me and Jen from Mom vs. the Boys with CBC's Steven and Chris

Now it’s important to understand that I made some very specific goals before I ever stepped onto the plane and I highly recommend that everyone do the same when attending a conference like this. When the email updates start filling your inbox, it is very easy to get swept up in all the fun of BlissDom Canada and forget about why you bought your ticket in the first place. When I found myself getting a little too excited about the entire event, I stepped back, took a few minutes and defined my three biggest goals for the conference.

My main reason for attending, as I mentioned, was to learn. I love learning new things and I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity there was to discover how I could make my website better. The panels were amazing and I was delighted to have the chance to get insights from mentors including Patty Sullivan of Kids’ CBC fame, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, host of Till Debt Do Us Part and Eric Alper of eOne. And during the breaks, I was able to discover even more by talking to the panellists in person!

I learned so much and there were some consistent themes that kept reappearing in the various panels. Stay true to yourself. Don’t be afraid to say no. Respect your audience. It all had my mind whirling with ideas for my website and its growth. What message did I want to share with the world?

My second goal for BlissDom Canada was to connect with some of the amazing sponsors and I definitely accomplished that goal as well. From the wonderful women of the Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers Steam & Win! Suite to the fabulous frugalistas of UsedEverywhere.com, I loved meeting the people behind the brands and building friendships that have lasted long after the D.J. played his final song at the Karaoke costume party.

Me and Mom vs. the Boys at the divalicious MabelBliss event

My final goal was to meet some of my best online blogging friends in person. I don’t think there’s any way to go to an event like BlissDom Canada and NOT accomplish that goal! I met Jody from Mommy Moment at the airport, Lynette from My Wee View at the TweetUp, Deanna from Maple Leaf Mommy at the niche group meeting and Jen from My Big Blue World at MabelBliss! I love reading as much as I love writing so I check out as many Canadian blogs as I possibly can and it was incredible to meet the women behind the blogs in real life!

I would be very remiss if I didn’t mention my very best blogging buddy, Jen from Mom vs. the Boys. Jen is the one that first reached out to me as a friend online. She taught me that the women behind the other Canadian blogs I read WANTED to connect with me and gave me the courage to start connecting with them. I met her as I was checking into the hotel and we connected instantly. It was so much fun to see that me and my best online friend got along just as well in real life as we did online!

Me and Jen from My Big Blue World at the BlissDom Canada 2011 Costume Party

So will I go back? It depends. Because my main goal was (and always will be) to learn, whether or not I go again will depend on whether or not the sessions continue to develop so that I can continue my mission. I’d love to see BlissDom Canada kick it up a notch next year and offer both beginner and advanced sessions on the most popular topics and if the conference was set up like that, I would be sure to be right up front with my laptop typing every word! But either way, BlissDom Canada 2011 was an event that I will never forget and I know that my blog will benefit greatly from the experience. Thanks so much to everyone that helped make it such a memorable conference!